The
Cincinnatian

THE B&O'S CINCINNATIAN

After WWII the rapid decline of the passenger train began to
accelerate due to the popularity of the automobile and the increasing capacity
and safety of the airplane. The B&O decided that a high speed luxury coach
between Baltimore (really Washington) and Cincinnati was just what the industry
needed. There were two trains, one running from Cincinnati to Baltimore and the
other running from Baltimore to Cincinnati. Due to the terrain these trains went
over, in order to maintain the very fast schedule, these trains were limited to
only five cars. As much as ownership wanted to add more cars they could not do
it.'

The Cincinnatian's route

The two trains were christened simultaneously on
January 7, 1947 in Cincinnati and Washington (not Baltimore) as it was the most
important stop in the east. That first season all the trips were sold out (this
was painful to ownership because they could not add more cars). These salad days
didn't last long. Automobiles were pouring out of Detroit as the post war
economy boomed and the roads were being rapidly improved. The airlines were
increasing in popularity and capacity. It was the coal strike of 1950 that
spelled the beginning of the end.

All the Cincinnatian cars were named for Cincinnati
localities. The first car was a combination baggage/lounge car consisting of a
20' compartment for checked baggage, a small room for clothes lockers,
lavatories, and restroom facilities for the crew (a corridor bypassed this room
for privacy.) No sleeping arrangements were needed since this train was run only
during the day. Next was the buffet kitchen followed by a 29' lounge section
with room for 24 people. Behind the lounge area was the conductor's office and
an area that housed an ice chest and air conditioning controls. The
Combines were #1307 Eden Park and #1308 Hyde Park.

Eden Park
car
Car layout & Lounge
area
Scenes in lounge area

The next two cars were
60-seat coaches. The four coaches were: # 3565 Indian Hill, # 3566 Winton Place,
# 3567 College
Hill and # 3568 Walnut Hills. The seats were "Sleepy Hollow" reclining
seats. There were two restrooms at each end with women on one end and men on the
other.

Winton Place car
60 Seat Layout
Coach
interior

The next car was a 56-seat coach. The four fewer
seats made room for a stewardess-Nurse room at one end of the car. This room was
fitted with a restroom, a room with lockers, medicine cabinet, and sofa. The
public address system was also located here. There were the same arrangements of
the men's and women's restrooms that were in the 60 seat coaches. These cars
were numbered 3572 Oakley and 3573 Norwood.
The railroad soon realized that they had made a mistake with regard
to the 60-seat coaches in that the women's restroom was not up to the standards
set by other trains of the day. 3567 College Hill and 3568 Walnut Hills were
replaced with 3574, Avondale and 3575, Price Hill. The new cars had only 52
seats. This allowed the women a larger lounge and restroom, with a water cooler,
private toilet, dressing table with wrap-around mirror, double wash basins, and
a three-seat couch.

The last car was the round-end Cafe-Observation cars. They were
named 3304 Peebles Corner and 3305 Fountain Square. It consisted of a full
kitchen and six dining tables. The rear observation area had seating for 21
people.

In order to conserve coal, due to a coal strike in
1950, a cutback in
passenger service was ordered and the Cincinnatian was one of the victims. The
Cincinnatian was taken off the Baltimore-Cincinnatian run on June 24, 1950 and
was put into service as the premier daylight train on the B&O's
Detroit-Cincinnati service. They were replacements for The Great Lakes Limited.
They were on a schedule of 5 hours and 50 minutes from terminal to terminal. The
new terrain allowed the locomotives to pull many more cars than previously, such
as mail and express cars, including a Railway Post Office. Thus the sleek
streamline look was never seen again.

Ad for new
route
New route map

Many
changes were made over the following years and by 1964 the passenger cars had
been reduced to one coach with lunch counter service. When the Amtrak party
began, she was not invited. She ran for the last time on April 30, 1971.